Momentum Transend E+
Giant’s new urban brand’s debut electric commuter
Weight 23.76kg (L) Frameset Aluminium Gears Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub gear Brakes Tektro HD-M275 Wheels: Momentum 27.5in aluminium rims Motor system Yamaha SyncDrive Life motor (60nM, 250W) and Panasonic 500Wh battery Finishing kit Alloy bar, stem and seatpost, Selle Royal Essenza Moderate saddle, CST Metropolitan Pal Bay tyres
THE MOMENTUM IS CERTAINLY
a striking-looking machine, with its low-slung top-tube and massively oversized down-tube giving it an almost beach cruiser appearance. Choose one of the bold frame colours: golden yellow, royal blue or red/orange in particular, and combined with the all-black components and massive tan-wall balloon tyres, it creates a funky and chunky look that’s quite appealing. The Transend comes in the standard shape seen here or with a low, curvy top ‘Mid-Step’ design, and in three sizes: Small, Medium and Large (tested).
At the heart of the Transend is a powerful mid-mounted motor built for Momentum by Yamaha. With 60Nm of torque coming from its 250W motor, I was never lacking assistance, no matter how steep an incline I was riding. The motor is controlled by a simple bar-mounted device. It has up and down buttons to switch between its five power modes, a bank of small LED lights showing the battery reserves, switches to control lights (which can be added to the system) and a power on/off button. On the underside of the controller you can activate the bike to connect to a compatible head unit; I connected the Transcend to my Garmin Edge 830 which then displays current mode and battery level on one of its data screens.
Momentum claims up to 105 miles (170km) of range from its large 500Wh battery. According to my testing, 105 miles seems somewhat optimistic, but if you only used the lightest of the five modes and only travelled on flat urban terrain it’s probably manageable. On my local more rural and hilly test terrain, the Transend achieved an impressive 61miles/98.17km with 1,417.32ft/432m of climbing. Range is one thing, but the Momentum has fast charging as another string to its bow, going from empty to 80% in just two hours and fully charged in four. The charger is a sizable unit at 225 x 100 x 50mm plus its cables, so it’ll take up a fair chunk of luggage space should you want to top up the charge when you’re at work. However, the battery is removable so it can be conveniently charged off the bike.
The Transend’s ride is quite simply great, with its ride position a perfect balance between relaxed and sporty. When you want to have a bit of fun and sprint away from traffic lights, or even sweep through the trees on woodland trails, it has enough agility to stay with you. Plus, the big CST tyres have plenty of compliance for rough stuff and their light tread works well on dry dusty ground too. The Transend is also rather comfortable, and the plush padded Selle Royal saddle means you won’t need padded shorts even on long commutes or family weekend rides.
The seven-speed hub gear is good, though the RevoShift (grip-style shifter) can be a bit of a handful to turn when it’s wet, requiring a fair bit of effort when coming up the gears as the cable tension increases. Plus, on occasion the hub gear has quite a delay between activating the shift and actually shifting (you may need a quick back-pedal to make the hub engage). The range, however, is well matched to the motor, and I found that on flat roads I rarely, if ever, felt the need to get out of level one of the motor’s assistance. In fact, the five modes give much more accurate control of the power than most systems and I found I got the best from the motor by using these modes almost like a second gear box, shifting up modes as the road steepened. I purposely took the Transcend to a few of the longer climbs in my locale and, using the modes like this, made short shrift of them.
In all, the Transcend E+ is a very welcome addition to the urban e-bike genre: great to ride, comfortable and fun with it. This does, however, come with a caveat. As a commuter bike, the specification is somewhat lacking: the smart frame is equipped with all the fixtures for racks and guards, but it comes with none of these commuter essentials, except a kickstand. You can ride with a backpack of course, but racks will help you avoid a sweaty back (and the bike is rated to carry a huge 156kg/344lb max load). I wouldn’t ever want to commute in my office attire without mudguards to stop spray and dirt. Plus, the motor system is equipped to power lights too, but yes, you’ve guessed it, the Transcend doesn’t have those either.
Add all these essentials to the price and you’re looking at a few hundred pounds on top of the purchase price, and as good as the Transcend is, that’s just not as great value as some of its more established rivals. Hopefully Momentum will soon address this with a better-equipped model down the line.
Verdict A funky, fun commuter that just needs more standard equipment for the money
“I took the Transcend to a few of the longer climbs in my locale and made short shrift of them when I shifted up modes as the road steepened”